HOUSE CALLS.

Fresh ideas will add to rustic ambience

Bob and Carol built this brown brick and gray cedar home 24 years ago in southwest suburban Frankfort.

It's on a double lot next to a large wooded property owned by the Forest Preserve District of Will County.

Sitting in her family room, which has a row of windows overlooking the woods, Carol described why this house and its tree-filled backdrop have appealed to her.

"It's wonderful," she said. "There are deer that come in, and I go back there and look for arrowheads."

The windows also provide a view of a swimming pool the Lundquists added to their property when their two daughters were younger. As much as their daughters enjoyed using the pool, it now is a major reason why the Lundquists plan to relocate from this four-bedroom home.

"We don't want to take care of it anymore. We want a pool-free life right now," said Bob.

Since their daughters are grown and living on their own, the Lundquists also do not need as much space. They are building their next home, which will be smaller, on a lot that is just a couple of miles away.

For advice on getting their current home ready for market, the Lundquists wrote to House Calls. We contacted Jack Williams, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell in Frankfort, who recently toured the property.

A cluster of a half-dozen trees towering over the front yard adds to the home's rustic ambience. It also has proved a challenge for the Lundquists over the years. It is difficult to grow grass in the shade of these trees.

"It's one of the problems of being in a wooded area. You can see we've been struggling with that," said Bob, pointing out barren areas of the front lawn.

Adding ground cover

Bob said he has considered giving up on growing grass and instead adding ground cover to the front yard.

Williams said adding ground cover would be a good idea. Getting the cover to flourish, however, may take more time than the Lundquists have, particularly because they are likely to put their home on the market some time in mid- to late 2002.

"If you can get it going [it would be a good idea]," said Williams. "But a lot of times, you don't have the time to get it going."

If the Lundquists decide they don't have the time to grow an adequate cover, Williams said they should simply keep the existing lawn and bushes well-trimmed and in neat condition.

Despite the difficulty of growing grass, Williams said the Lundquists have plenty of other assets in this beautiful setting to emphasize.

No matter what time of year they show their home, he suggested they create a scrapbook for buyers to browse with photos showing how lovely their yard looks when the trees are in the full greenery of spring, are covered with leaves in autumn, or blanketed with snow in winter.

The Lundquists also have a wooden fence that separates their property from the forest preserve. Over time, however, one piece of lumber has become dislodged from its setting and rests, on one end, on the rail below it.

Although they were planning to fix the fence, Williams said the fence, even in a state of disrepair, adds to the overall ambience.

"That looks good. It's part of the [rustic] scenery," he said.

Overlooking the swimming pool, the house has a cedar deck. Because of its shady location, however, it tends to get mossy.

"That's probably worth painting," said Williams.

Glass doors removed

In the garage, the Lundquists have stored glass doors that had separated the family and dining rooms. For a large dinner party, they had removed the doors to give guests more room.

They decided they liked the look of flowing space between the rooms and never reinstalled the doors. The apparatus for the doors, including the frames, is still in place.

"I like it without the doors," said Williams.

However, because the frames are still in place, he said, "I can see why people would wonder if there is a problem."

Williams liked Bob's idea of removing the doorframes and replacing them with strips of wood, including a new threshold between the rooms.

"Good, then we can get rid of those glass doors," said Carol.

In the entry foyer, which has soaring ceilings, Bob said he is planning to repair a small crack in the ceiling and had been thinking of adding crown molding. Williams said the Lundquists should fix the crack, but added that the cost of installing the molding would probably not be recouped.

The upstairs bedrooms have older carpeting, including brown in one room and a harvest gold in another. The Lundquists also recently expanded a closet in the master bedroom and have not yet finished the flooring in this area.

Since some of the carpet looks dated and because they need to add a floor covering in the walk-in closet, Williams suggested they also replace the carpet throughout the second floor with a neutral shade.

The master bathroom has a faux marble counter in shades of brown and cream, along with a brown toilet and tub/shower. Another upstairs bathroom has yellow counters and accoutrements.

Both color schemes look dated, Williams said. However, he did not suggest complete overhauls of these rooms, which would be expensive.

Instead, he said the Lundquists should focus on making less costly updates, such as replacing a faux wood medicine chest in the master bathroom with a new one. In the yellow bathroom, they may want to emphasize its potential use as a kids' bathroom by adding colorful towels, a shower curtain, a rug or other items with a playful decorative scheme

Bob noted that a couple of bedroom doors are slightly marred by nicks and the residue of stickers that their daughters had applied.

Williams recommended removing the residue and polishing the doors.

Carol also wondered if she should remove a large bulletin board with a blue background from one of her daughter's rooms.